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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25957030">Field Medics</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrWowThatHurt/pseuds/DrWowThatHurt'>DrWowThatHurt</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stardew Valley (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Military Backstory, Slow Burn, Tags will be updated as we go along, Trauma, War, also only tagging the major characters in the fic. That may be updated too</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:27:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25957030</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrWowThatHurt/pseuds/DrWowThatHurt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Another story of a new farmer showing up to the valley, this one only carrying an accent and his bags. Something is odd about him, but everyone points in a different direction, from his personality, to treason, to magic and the unknown.<br/>A culmination of my Stardew Valley hyperfixation.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harvey/Male Player (Stardew Valley), Harvey/Original Character, Harvey/Player (Stardew Valley), Harvey/Trans Male Player</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>To preface: I don’t know how far I’m going to get into this. I was (gently?) bullied into posting my thoughts on my farmer, Arin.<br/>The war that occurs in game is one of the primary points in this fic, but not in the “orrggg racist stardew characters” way with 97% of the characters because... gross.  There will be a lot of healing in this fic, in many ways, over many things.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The birds chirped in the newly dawned spring morning. Dew still clung to the sprouting grass, the valley coming back to life after the freezing winter. In the tiny center of town, two early risers were chatting.<br/>“Ah, one of old Ted's kids, then,” the old man beamed. “You can call me Lewis, I’m the mayor of Pelican town here.”<br/>“I was told sir,” the new arrival replied.<br/>“What’s your name?” Lewis asked, handing the aged letter back.<br/>“Drechsler- Arin Drechsler, sir. My mom was Ted’s eldest daughter.” Arin put the folded paper back into his jeans pocket and adjusted his glasses. <br/>Lewis nodded with a grin, “Well then, Arin, assuming you came straight from the bus stop, I’ll show you to the farm.” He offered a hand to take Arin’s duffel, but Arin only held it closer to himself. Lewis shrugged and they walked down the gravel road out of the town center, West. <br/>Lewis chatted along the way. “So, how’s your mother? I remember her when she was just a kid, your grandfather was so proud of her. Where’d she end up?” Arin gave Lewis a glance to the side, replying shortly, “She’s doing well. Moved out of the country after she graduated to be with my father.” Lewis smiled as always, “How wonderful! Where, exactly? I feel like I know your accent from somewhere…” <br/>This seemed to have struck a nerve with Arin, who replied sternly, “Overseas.” Lewis blinked, and stopped and he pulled open the ajar fence by the weathered farm sign. “Well then, Arin, this is the old Drechler farm! I will say, it’s a little overgrown…” he tentatively watched as Arin wandered a few metres in and examined the plot of land, half forested, littered with rocks, stumps, weeds and grasses. Arin turned back and nodded, “Nothing some hard work won’t fix, sir.” This made Lewis chuckle as he led Arin to the rickety cabin, up the creaky porch and pulled a worn key from his small collection. Arin couldn’t help but fidget nervously about how he was in the middle of the woods, on an abandoned farm, about to head into a mysterious cabin with this old stranger that could possibly know he’s from the… <br/>The door squealed as it opened, and one could see the dust floating in the sunbeams from the window. Lewis clicked his teeth, “Well, it has been in better shape, I must admit, but,” he checked his watch, “I have something I need to attend to- there's an outhouse and a showerhead out back.” Arin nodded and felt internally relieved he was leaving, taking the key. “Have a good day sir,” he said, and watched Lewis leave. <br/>Well, at least this wasn’t a murder plot, Arin thought. He stepped inside, locked the door behind him, set his bags down and flopped on the shifty and dusty bed. A nap, even here, after such a long last few days seemed fair. He missed having a bed, or anything comfortable to be on or in.<br/>———<br/>Arin ran his thumbs along the blisters that were forming on his palms and sighed. “Least I got all that mandatory physical training at the base,” he murmured to himself. <br/>His new home was dusted and thoroughly cleaned, any local woodland inhabitants being gently shooed out. He was glad about how much was still there in the home- a table and chair, a couple knick knacks here and there, spare sheets and other linens, dishes, the essentials. He also managed to fit (loosely) into the clothes left behind, but it was obvious everything needed to be washed. The old fashioned way. <br/>See- most of everything was all fine and swell, it had running water from the well and a fireplace, now lit to chase the evening chill away after being cleaned. The only thing that bugged Arin the most was the major lack of electricity. There were candles and lamps, and he knew how to keep a house a decent temperature without heat or air conditioning, having lived in a crummy apartment building, but it was still quite a setback. The only source for power were the total of two outlets, half of one being taken by the huge box television, which was playing the news in the background while Arin ate straight beans from the can.<br/>The news seemed to never shut up about the war. There wasn’t anything else on, and Arin didn’t want to sit in silence, tapping his foot in increasing annoyance as the news lady went on and on about the enemies of the state. <br/>He shut it off when she started to discuss the topic of Gotoro Empire spies disguised as refugees, and sighed as he realized he’d punched a hole in the bottom of the can with his fork in the peak of his frustration before clicking the remote moments earlier.<br/>“Better than prison,” he reminded himself, grabbing a rag to put under the seeping can.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Introductions.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harvey raised a brow and turned to Maru. “Say that again?” <br/>“A new person moved to town, Harvey!” Maru was very stoked by this, “I heard they moved into the old farm! Chin up Harvey, there’s hope for you left,” she teased. Harvey rolled his eyes as he went back to his work, and Maru laughed. “It’s interesting how much a new face changes the dynamic, you know,” she commented. <br/>———<br/>“That’ll be 300 gold, young man,” the man behind the till smiled. Arin counted the money and handed the exact amount over, thanking him. “Call me Pierre instead of sir, you don’t have to be so formal. You can probably tell I run this place.” Arin nodded, and added the assorted bags of seeds with the others, coming from a package Lewis gave him that morning. <br/>He jumped as someone tapped on his shoulder, whipping around to be met face to face with a purple haired girl. She grinned, “So you’re the new farmer, huh?” Arin slung his backpack back on and agreed, “Yeah, you can call me Arin.” He held out a hand, “Can I have your name?” She blinked, and laughed, “What are you, a fae? You can call me Abigail.” Arin smirked in intrigue as he lowered his hand. <br/>“Hey, Abigail, why don't you take Arin on a tour?” Pierre offered with an interesting look, and Abigail rolled her eyes, before giving an up-and-down look to the farmer. “Oh, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Arin said, before Abigail grabbed his wrist and started dragging the both of them out the building. <br/>“Sorry about my dad,” Abigail said as they started walking down the center of town, “he keeps trying anything to get me out of the house. Kinda a menace.” Arin nodded, “It’s fine, if you don’t want to show me around, you don’t have to,” he gestured as if to go back to the farm. “No way! I’m not giving up the bragging rights of showing the farmer around, and being one of the first people he talks to.” Arin blinked, and shrugged. “Must be a small place here then, eh?” Abigail looked at him as if he had a second head, “You… really are from out of country, huh.” Arin didn’t have a chance to reply before Abigail interjected with the directions, “We’re heading to Sam’s house first, he should be practicing doing tricks on his skateboard.” <br/>———<br/>Arin didn’t stop by for long but, he was a little surprised at how nice everyone was. He appreciated the tour and made sure to give thanks, trying his hardest to keep all the names straight while he worked on the farm; he met Lewis yesterday, Abigail and her dad Pierre at his shop, then Sam, Vincent, Jodi and Sebastian at Sam’s house, they ran into Alex and Haley, then the lovely old lady Evelyn, and he’d heard of Emily, and he was aware someone lived in the clinic and a few up in the mountains and on the beach.<br/>It really seemed like everyone knew everyone, and he did feel not only a little nervous at how fast word could spread, but a little left out. It was startling how everyone already knew he was the new farmer despite showing up the day before unannounced. <br/>Arin sighed before he could get any more paranoid, and realized that being so caught up in his thoughts was a good distraction from the pain of the old and new blisters in his hands. At least he had nearly enough space tilled, but he honestly was not used to the hard labour- kinda what you get from going from a mildly physically trained pharmacist directly to a farmer. Wiping the sweat from his forehead he walked inside for a little break. <br/>Arin was halfway through a sit and a glass of water when there was a hearty knock on the door. Feeling every muscle in his body flinch and go tense, he silently set his glass down, creeping for the door, heart in his ears. He picked up the axe he was using earlier, and held his breath as he opened his door a crack. Instead of the grizzled official, there was a middle aged lady with long braided hair. He slowly opened the door more and set the axe down. <br/>“Hello! I’m Marnie, I run the ranch just south of here,” she greeted, loud and cheery, “It's so nice to have another farmer around.” Arin couldn’t help but smile- in the same way you would when you visit your awesome aunt. “The name’s Arin, ma’am,” he said, holding a hand out and it was taken heartily. “No need for the ma’am- most call me Auntie Marnie. You should swing by sometime! I’m sure Jas would like to see you- and my nephew, Shane, also lives there. He’s quite… prickly, but he’s a good man.” Arin nodded, adding those to the roster of names. “It was nice meeting you, Aunt Marnie,” Arin said, “I’ll be sure to come by.” <br/>She smiled and said she best be off, the ducks still need to be fed, and she went. Arin sighed in relief, because it wasn’t that he hated visitors or anything- he hated being alone, with them out in the farm so far away, given the state of things. He hated feeling so hunted. He hoped he could keep the mystery up until it was all over. <br/>———<br/>Arin sat on a large stump and looked at the day's work- he cleared enough way to till enough dirt to plant his seeds, which was a fair amount in front of his house. He could already tell his arms and shoulders were going to hate him for it, and his chest felt creaky and sore from binding his chest all day with all the work. He knew he shouldn’t have- he tossed around the idea of only binding when he went out to the town as he stepped inside to get into looser clothes, but given how easily someone could stop by… he’d rather die than be found out again. He didn’t want to end up having to run again or worse- be caught here, and have all the charges stack up while he’s in a prison cell.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Aiming to have each chapter be give-or-take 1000 words.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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